


The Seconds Halt In Disbelief

by SperaStella



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Damerey Endgame, F/M, Old Republic AU, Old Republic Era, Slow Burn, Spy Poe, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:55:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22203697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SperaStella/pseuds/SperaStella
Summary: In the golden age of The Old Republic, the remnants of the Sith Empire have nearly been driven from the galaxy. REY of Jakku has just passed the Trials to become the most promising new Knight of the Jedi Order.When her first assignment goes awry, Rey will be assigned to POE DAMERON, a seasoned agent of the Republic Strategic Information Service (SIS). Together, they will need to unravel a sinister plot in order to protect the Republic.This is a Star Wars Old Republic AU using characters and stories from across canon and legends.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Comments: 9
Kudos: 42





	1. A Reflection

**Author's Note:**

> This is very much an AU separate from both the Star Wars canon as well as the legends Old Republic. Characters and stories will be heavily borrowed from both but certain details, backgrounds and other aspects will be changed. This AU is set around 1000-2000 BBY, well after many of the events in the legends Old Republic such that stories of those times have passed down through generations and will be incorporated into this.
> 
> This will be a Damerey endgame but prepare for the deep slow burn. :)
> 
> Rating of this fic will go up in future chapters and tags will be added as we go. Let's do it!

_The truth in our soul_  
_Is that nothing is true._  
_The question of life_  
_Is what then do we do?_  
_The burden is ours_  
_To penance, we hew._  
_The Force binds us all_  
_From a certain point of view._

Rey of Jakku runs her hand over the ancient words engraved in the stone steps. 

For almost two-thousand years the Jedi Temple on Coruscant stood as a beacon of hope. Countless generations of Jedi called this place their home, learning the ways of the Force from the wise masters of old. The Temple’s archives held the greatest collection of knowledge throughout the known galaxy. All that remains now are ashes and debris, a reminder of the Sith Empire’s assault that nearly brought down the Republic. 

Rey quickly ascends the steps and begins to immerse herself inside the Temple’s ruins. She has been on Coruscant for two months since passing the Trials and not once did she feel the need to come here. It still felt too much like a vivid dream. She had passed the Trials at the age of twenty, the youngest Jedi Knight in a hundred generations. She expected to be sent to the front lines to help drive out the last vestiges of the Sith Empire. Or perhaps to the Outer Rim, to quell unruly crime syndicates and serve as a diplomat for the Republic. Instead, she was assigned as a peacekeeper on Coruscant. 

It was a job that mostly involved protecting Senate dignitaries and occasionally interfacing with various Republic agencies on behalf of the Jedi Order. Her former master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, urged patience. Rey knew he was right, but it was harder to put into practice. Since being adopted as an orphan by the Order at the age of six, she believed her true destiny lay somewhere beyond the city streets of Coruscant, somewhere greater. Now making her way through the remnants of the Temple, she is filled with memories of growing up on Tython and listening to the stories of courageous Jedi of the past such as Belth Allusis, Revan, Gnost-Dural, and Satele Shan. 

Maybe that was why she felt an inexplicable reason to be here tonight. Walking through these halls was her attempt to be closer to her heroes instead of what it really was - a reflection of her own loneliness despite Coruscant being the center of the galaxy.

As Rey approaches the entrance to the Tower of First Knowledge she feels an odd shiver run down her spine, as if suddenly, she was no longer alone. The Senate and Jedi Order were debating whether to rebuild the Temple now that the war was nearing an end, but the grounds were still off-limits to any non-Jedi and unauthorized personnel. “Hello?” she calls out, “Is anyone here?” No answer came. She steps forward tentatively and repeats the call. “Hello?” 

Perhaps her memories were clouding her senses? Once the inclination finally subsides, she figures that must be the case. It had been a long day after all. 

It was only a moment later that Rey realizes how wrong she was, even before she sees or hears it. Every fiber in her being stood on edge as a tension rippled through the Force. It was just a feeling, but it felt like lightning coursing through the air. She reacts on pure impulse, years of intense training, meditation and study put instantly to test. Reaching down and stepping to her left, she unclips the lightsaber at her waist, activates it and spins around just in time to parry an attack -- from another lightsaber. 

“Agh!” Rey cries out, pushing her attacker back.

In front of her stands a man shrouded in a black cloak. He wears some kind of mask covering most of the bottom half of his face, including his mouth. His eyes glow with a hint of yellow and he carries a red lightsaber which buzzes in his right hand. Her mind is racing. “Who are…”

Before she can finish her thought, the man lunges forward to attack, forcing her to counter. He relentlessly keeps up his attacks as she works to continue to defend herself. Quickly realizing the extent of the danger she is in, Rey activates her emergency distress signal that was intended for her Senate dignitaries.

Despite her youth and slender frame, Rey’s skill with a lightsaber was one of her strongest qualities as a Jedi. She had a natural quickness, deceptive physical strength and possessed a strong affinity with the Force. These attributes enabled her to easily best any of her other former Padawans and even several existing Knights. It’s why she loved her training duels with Master Kenobi, he was one of the few that encouraged pushing her beyond her limits. While this man didn’t possess Master Kenobi’s skill with a lightsaber, it was obvious he had serious training and skill in his own right. 

Parrying another attack, Rey reaches back with her right hand and pulls inward. Keeping her left hand on her saber, she extends her right hand forward and pushes with the Force. To her surprise, the cloaked man perfectly mirrors her movements and they are both thrown backward when their respective attacks collide, creating a loud boom in the air. 

“Who are you?!” Rey shouts. “What are you doing here?” The man doesn’t respond. He takes a few pacing steps in a circle while staring her down with his glowing yellow eyes before finally charging at her yet again. She blocks several more of his attacks and counters with attacks of her own. Rey knows this is going to be over very soon, it won’t be long until the Republic Security Forces arrive. It is a scout droid though, which ends the fight. 

She is holding her lightsaber above her head, pushing back against a vicious swing from her attacker when the droid loudly announces: _[You are trespassing on restricted Republic property! Immediately surrender or face lethal force.]_

The man seems startled at the announcement and yells something over his shoulder in a language she does not understand. Seemingly out of nowhere, Rey sees another person quickly running at them. Their lightsabers are the only source of light in the night’s darkness, so she does not clearly see the second man until its too little too late. With a howl, he throws a set of grenades at her. 

“SHIT!” she yells as she desperately leaps backwards hitting the ground for cover.

By the time she is able to regain her senses, Rey finds both her lightsaber wielding attacker and his companion are nowhere to be found. She can’t even feel them in the Force. They’ve disappeared from the Temple as if they were never there in the first place. The scout droid lies on the ground taken out by the ion grenade. Looking around, Rey clips her lightsaber back on her waist and tries to process what just happened. 

“Shit.” 

***

Poe Dameron sits in a booth and takes another drink of his Corellian whiskey. It’s been a long week and he just wants to complete this deal. Instead, he’s stuck in the most depressing cantina on Corellia listening to his two contacts, Andade and Brenwil, haggle him over price. 

“It’s 300,000 credits,” argues Brenwil.

Poe rolls his eyes. “The deal was 250,000.”

Andade shakes his head. “275,000” 

“250,000,” Poe repeats. The truth was he didn’t care at all about the price. He could pay 275,000, 300,000 or even 500,000. _It’s not my money after all._ No, this was about the principle of the matter. If he was buying his way into an illegal bioweapons auction, he couldn’t roll over when some low-level thug tried squeeze him for more credits. What kind of message would that send? _A pretty shitty one._

Andade and Brenwil look between one another before the former finally nods in agreement. “250,000 credits.”

“Excellent,” Poe says with an expression on his face that does not match his words. He finishes the rest of his whiskey, takes out a datapad and begins pressing a few buttons. “What account number should I send the credits to?”

Andade and Brenwil look at one another again.

 _Ugh._ This is too tiring. Why does it always have to be so difficult? He knows it's coming before Andade even pulls out his blaster underneath the table, but Poe doesn’t even bother trying to react. Honestly, these guys are just too predictable. Maybe this whole mission was a waste of time. 

“Give us the datapad,” whispers Brenwil. 

Poe puts the datapad back into his rucksack and leans back in the booth without a care in the world. “Guys, you really don’t want to do this.” He closes his eyes and rubs the bridge of his nose. _Why does this always happen to me,_ he thinks, shaking his head. 

“That wasn’t a smart move _Kes_.” Andade hisses. “Do you have a deathwish?”

Poe’s eye’s flicker open with an intensity that wasn’t there previously. Both his would-be killers pickup the change in his demeanor. _Not here._ Poe sighs, steadying himself and gives a short smile. “Gentlemen, why don’t we take this outside? No need to cause a mess in here.”

Andade grunts, “Let’s go.” 

They pull Poe out of the booth with their blasters still trained on him. The other cantina patrons don’t even bother to look concerned. This was one of those places where a night without blasters pointed at someone was actually considered out of place and no one batted an eye if a body or two also ended up hitting the floor. As they walked toward the exit, Brenwil reaches down and takes Poe’s blaster from his side. 

The door of the cantina swings open and they are met with the brisk Corellian air. He sighs. “Come on guys, this really doesn’t have to end this way.” 

“Enough, are you going to give us that datapad or not?” rasps Andade as he pushes Poe around the corner to the alley behind the cantina. 

Poe’s eyes shift to a dark intense brown. _Breathe._ He reacts like lightning in that split moment before Brenwil also rounds the corner into the alley. Poe turns, reaches across his body with his left hand, and pulls Andade’s arm holding the blaster closer to him over his right shoulder. “Argh!” the man shouts as Poe then slams his right elbow into his forearm, causing him to drop his blaster.

Poe releases his left hand and catches the blaster before it hits the ground. He spins around revealing a vibroblade in his right hand and cuts Andade’s throat in one fluid motion before the man can yell out. Brenwil is in the alley now, just registering what has happened, and fires his blaster at him. But Poe is too quick. He holds up Andade’s body as cover for the blaster shot. Adjusting the blaster he caught in his left hand, he shoots Brenwil square in the chest and the man falls to the ground. 

He stands there for a moment in the alley over the bodies of the two thugs he just killed. Breathing in again, Poe sets to work patting them down for any information he can salvage. These idiots may have been a waste of time, but perhaps they had something on them which could still get him closer to the auction. 

A soft rumbling approaches. _[Master Poe! Master Poe! Are you alright?]_ beeps a droid. 

“Yeah, I’m fine BB-8.” He stands up, unable to find anything on their bodies. Retrieving his own blaster and holstering it, he looks over towards the droid. “I thought you were staying with the ship buddy?” 

BB-8 beeps excitedly. _[I received an urgent message for you Master Poe!]_

Poe and BB-8 begin to make their way out of the alley, leaving the two dead bodies on the ground. “Alright, let’s see what we got here.” He flips his communicator open and enters in his passkey. Only three people have direct encrypted communication access to him and one of them was BB-8. When Poe reads the message on the small screen he stops in place all of a sudden, causing BB-8 to bump into his leg.

Rolling around in front to face him, BB-8 asks: _[What is it Master Poe?]_

“Nothing good buddy,” he responds with a serious tone. “Go on ahead and get the ship ready. We’re leaving.”

_[Affirmative!]_

Poe confirms receipt of the transmission and puts away the communicator. He disappears into the crowd and begins to make his way back to his ship with the last message still very much on his mind... 

_{Need you back on Coruscant asap -- Fulcrum}_

***

Two days after the incident in the Temple ruins, Rey finds herself heading to a meeting with the Jedi Order’s Senior Council. She had been in countless debriefings trying to recall various details of her fight with the unknown Force user. Unfortunately, it all happened so fast she can’t remember much of anything useful. Maybe that is why the Senior Council summoned her? Were they somehow disappointed?

“Rey!”

Hearing the sound of the voice, she smiles and spins around to see her former Master, Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi, standing behind her. 

At the age of 50, Master Kenobi was one of the three members of the Senior Council but he was always so kind in a way that made it easy to forget the man was one of the greatest living Jedi in the galaxy. Rey had always been surprised when he decided to take her on as his Padawan all those years ago. Normally, Jedi Masters of Ben’s age and status wouldn’t take on a single Padawan and instead focus on the instruction and training of students at large. 

“Master!” Rey exclaims, rushing forward and giving him a big hug. She hadn’t seen him since she was given her assignment on Coruscant two months ago. Master Kenobi laughs as he embraces his former padawan. “Good to see you too Rey.” He releases the embrace and holds her at arm's length. “Let me get a look at you.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she says playfully swatting his hands away.

“Well the report I read of your incident at the Temple had me worried,” admitted the elder Jedi. He gestures in front of them and they continue to walk ahead to meet the rest of the Senior Council. “To come across a user of the Dark Side of the Force on Coruscant, in the Temple ruins no less with the skill you claim, is quite shocking.” Most of the remnants of the Sith Empire had been driven to the Outer Rim and while there were definitely still Sith in the galaxy, this felt different. 

When they arrive in the room, the rest of the council is already present. Master Kenobi takes his seat on the left. Sitting to his right in the center of the room the Grand Master of the Jedi Order, Master Yoda. The elder Jedi had trained hundreds of Jedi across his life and his knowledge and connection to the Force was second to none. Sitting to the right of Master Yoda was the strongest Jedi in the order: Luke Skywalker. He was a few years younger than Obi-Wan, but Master Skywalker possessed lightsaber skills rivaling Ben and a strength in the Force that might reach Master Yoda’s one day. 

Rey couldn’t help but feel a little intimidated in such company. _Breathe._ It was only when she finally moved to take her seat in front of them did she notice another man standing off in the corner of the room near the window. He was about Ben’s age, maybe a bit older. He stood around her height with light skin and grey threads running through his formally brown hair. 

She tilts her head over towards the strange man inquisitively. 

“Welcome he is,” remarks Master Yoda as she sits down.

Master Skywalker speaks first. “I’m sure you are wondering why we asked you here Rey.”

She nods. Honestly, she had been going a little stir-crazy the last two days. She was removed from her previous peacekeeping assignment and besides the hours spent debriefing, Rey mostly had nothing to do. Who would have thought? Two days of staying cooped up and part of her was missing having to follow around boring Senate dignitaries. On second thought... _Maker please no!_

“We have reviewed your report from the Temple,” continued Master Skywalker, “and it coincides with other disturbing reports we have been receiving recently about isolated pockets of Sith activity in the Outer Rim. This is the first we’ve heard of such an incident here in the Core Worlds - and at the former Temple.” 

Rey frowns. “I-I’m not sure he was a Sith.” 

“Strong in the Dark Side was he?” asks Master Yoda.

“Yes Master, but I’ve fought Sith alongside Master Kenobi in the past.” She looks over toward Ben. “The man who attacked me definitely used the Dark Side, but he wasn’t consumed by it in the way every Sith I’ve encountered before had been.”

Her former master leans forward. “Regardless, we need to get to the bottom of this Rey. Most of these reports come by way of intelligence gathered by the SIS. As such, we’ve come to an agreement the best path forward would be a joint operation.”

The SIS, Republic SIS, or more formally, the Republic Strategic Information Service, was the premier intelligence, espionage and direct action agency of the Republic. Originally only serving as the intelligence arm for the Senate, the SIS had evolved over the course of the war to combat its counterpart in the Sith Empire, Imperial Intelligence. Rey had only ever crossed paths with one or two clerks who worked for the SIS in her time on Coruscant when they would drop off reports for different Senators. Suddenly it made sense. The fourth unidentified man in the room must be the SIS Bureau Chief. 

“Okay?” Rey asks hesitantly. It’s only a second later her world is turned upside down. 

“We are assigning you to an SIS agent to investigate this threat.” explains Master Luke calmly. “The SIS will lead the investigation, but given the elements at play here and your brief encounter earlier this week, we think it’s best you assist directly.”

“No!” 

_Shit! I just said that out loud..._

Rey’s face flushes in embarrassment at her lack of self-control. Definitely un-Jedi like. Truthfully though, she doesn’t want this. She’s a Jedi, not a spy. It was bad enough having to follow around boring Senators all day. Now this?

“Important this is young Rey,” states Master Yoda. 

She looks between the three and can see the decision has already been made. _A Jedi’s life is about service_ she tells herself. If this is where the council felt she was most needed, she would see it through...just like she had with her peacekeeping assignment on Coruscant. Rey nods in acceptance. “Yes, Master. I-I understand. I will see it done.” 

Master Skywalker nods. “Good.” He then turns to the (SIS) man in the corner, “When will your agent be here?”

“Tomorrow.” the SIS man grunts. 

“ _Trant?”_ asks Luke.

The SIS man nods. Turning to Rey he tosses her a coin. “My agent will signal you when he arrives tomorrow. Take this coin. He will identify himself with an identical coin.” Before she can even respond, the SIS man sweeps past her and exits the room. 

After concluding their business, the council dismisses her and she walks out with Master Kenobi at her side. He may not be her master anymore, but Ben could always tell when she needed a steadying hand. “What was that?” Rey asks. 

“Who Director Andor?” Ben laughs with a smile. “He just takes some getting used to.”

_Wait...what?!_

She stops dead in her tracks. “Th-that was SIS Director **_Cassian Andor_ ** ?! **”**

Ben’s smile grows wider as he watches her facial expression. “Yes, of course.” 

As they continue walking Rey’s mind was racing. Director Andor. _The_ Cassian Andor. While it’s true Rey had never worked with any SIS agents, Cassian Andor was practically a living legend. He had run hundreds of successful missions during his time in the SIS before eventually taking over as Director. His most famous operation involved infiltrating Imperial Intelligence headquarters on Dromund Kaas (!) and stealing schematics for the entire Imperial Navy along with who knows what other useful information. This intelligence became the backbone of the Republic’s upper hand in the war and eventual near elimination of the Sith Empire from the galaxy. 

“Yeah…” Rey sighs still a bit in disbelief. “Wow.”

***

Cassian pulls up his hood as rain continues to pour on Coruscant a day later. Looking around to ensure he isn’t being followed, he dips into a cantina in the lower levels of the city. Spotting his mark inside, (in the back with a full view of the room) Cassian sits down in the booth across from the man. 

“You look like shit.”

Poe shrugs with a short smile. “ _You_ called _me_.”

Cassian nods. He normally wouldn’t call Poe in like this. They had an understanding after all. Even more abnormal was the need to meet face to face. Cassian would only take such a risk if it were absolutely necessary and Poe knew it. The younger man takes a drink of his whiskey before settling his eyes intently on his senior. “So. Lay it on me.”

“Three days ago someone attacked a Jedi in the ruins of the Temple here on Coruscant. The attacker was some kind of Force user, lightsaber and everything. Maybe a Sith.” Poe doesn’t say anything so Cassian continues. “We’ve been getting reports of Dark Side Force users throughout the Outer Rim. At first, we thought it was Sith who had deserted the Empire in an attempt to escape the war, but now we are less sure.”

Poe grunts. They both know where this going, no need to beat around the bush any longer. “I need you to run this down, wherever it leads. If it’s Sith, we need to know what they are planning. If these Dark Side Force users are not Sith, then we still need to know what they are planning, and more importantly, who they are.”

“Understood.” 

Poe looks at him intently, clearly he can tell there is more. Poe Dameron was good like that he thinks. The man had learned from the best after all. 

“I’ve spoken with the Jedi Senior Council.” sighs Cassian. He knows what he’s going to say next isn’t going to go over well - it violates their second understanding. “They insisted and I agreed to assign the Jedi who was attacked in the Temple to you for this mission.”

Poe’s eyes grow darker for a moment as a fire that previously wasn’t there flickers alive. “Sir…”

Cassian holds up his hand. “I know.” He matches Poe’s intense stare. “But it needs to be this way.”

The younger man’s eyes refocus, seemingly backing down in acceptance of an argument it's clear he isn’t going to win. “So which poor sap of a Jedi got the assignment?” asks Poe while taking another sip of whiskey. “I bet he’s pissed.”

“Oh yes.” Cassian well and truly smiles now. “ ** _She_ ** was not happy.” 

Poe nearly coughs up his drink. “W-what?”

Truthfully, he expected this. It’s bad enough he was asking Poe to work with a partner, and then a Jedi, but when the council insisted the girl who was attacked be the one to join his agent, Cassian knew exactly how this conversation would play out. He slides a datapad over to Poe. “Her dossier and report of the incident. Her name is Rey.”

Normally, he only keeps dossiers on Jedi who have reached a level certain influence, even he doesn’t have unlimited resources after all. Given the circumstances, however, he put one together on Rey as quickly as he could in a day’s time. Poe flips the datapad on and scans the the file before shaking his head. “You gotta be kidding me! She’s just a kid!”

“Master Skywalker, Kenobi and Yoda all insist that what she lacks in experience she will more than make up for in ability.” If anyone knew a thing or two about bringing an inexperienced woman on a dangerous mission it was Cassian. It is how he met Jyn after all, and look how that turned out. He smiles thinking about his wife. A classic romance meet-cue theirs was not, but it worked for them nonetheless. “Besides, you can always teach her.”

Poe chuckles at that one before his face clearly resigns to the task at hand. “Alright. I- we’ll get on it.” 

“Good.” Cassian hands him a coin identical to the one he gave Rey a day earlier. “This is your marker, so she knows your my agent. She’s expecting to hear from you today.” The two sit there for a moment, seemingly studying each other before Cassian finally gets up first. Placing a hand on Poe’s shoulder for a moment, he looks him in the eyes. “ _Adelante._ ” 

“ _Siempre._ ” Poe huffs in a low voice. 

A second later Cassian is sweeping out of the cantina, leaving his agent to get to work. In his youth this was exactly the type of mission he lived for. Danger, intrigue, and mystery were practically his middle name. Today, however, he has to accept the reality of his age. 

It never gets easier.

***

The rain gives way later that evening when Poe finds himself waiting outside the Temple ruins. He’s leaning up against a column with his arms folded and eyes closed thinking back to his conversation with Fulcrum earlier in the day. The elder man knew what he was asking and yet he still asked it of him anyway. Poe was never going to refuse him and he knew it. It was part of their understanding. Still, it didn’t make any of this easier. _If it were easy, anyone could do it._

After meeting with Fulcrum, Poe had sent instructions to the Jedi to meet him at the Temple at 20:00. He has never actually been to the Temple ruins despite the significant amount of time he has spent on Coruscant over his life. The reason has nothing to do with Poe disliking the Jedi, the Force or anything like that. _Of course not._ No, the reason was simple: it was about singular focus. He previously had no reason to be here. But given everything that has transpired over the past 17 years of his life, he couldn’t help a shiver running down his spine when he first approached the ancient structure tonight. It was just a-

_She’s here._

A few seconds later, Poe can hear the faint sound of footsteps approaching. He opens his eyes, takes a deep breath, and steps out from behind the column he was resting against. It takes only a split second, but Poe can tell he startled her. “Agh?!”

“There is no need for that Master Rey,” he states plainly, clearly well aware of where her hand had drifted despite not actually seeing it beneath her robes. 

“Who are you?!”

The Jedi before him stands almost at his height with brown hair tied back, focused eyes, and despite her current expression, an undoubtedly kind face. Which is bad. Kind faces generally do not fair well in his line of work. Poe reaches into his pocket and tosses the Jedi the coin he received earlier. ”I’m your man.”

She inspects the coin for a few seconds before nodding, her body relaxing slightly. Poe takes a few steps toward her and extends his hand. “Poe Dameron.”

After studying him for a moment, she takes it, shaking his hand. “Rey.” 

“I know.” 

“Right,” she mutters hastily, clearly a little embarrassed and out of her element. “Director Andor told you about me?”

 _Andor_. It had been years since Poe had actually heard anyone say Fulcrum’s actual name out loud. Probably more of an indictment of his own lifestyle than anything else. He nods and offers her a short smile to break the tension. Turning towards the Temple, he gestures with his hand for her to follow. “Come on, let's go.” 

He’s already three paces away leading them inside when she begins to follow and calls out behind him, “Where are we going?”

“To see what we are working with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading <3
> 
> The "I know" dialogue at the end felt a little bit like too much fluff this early on, but I swear it wrote itself into the plot. I didn't even force it.
> 
> Title of this work comes from the song [Now That I think About It by Alex Vargas](https://open.spotify.com/track/5wEyhhm1g4OgisejJBVP0z)


	2. Chasing Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe begin their assignment while she tries to get a better understanding of the mysterious SIS agent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Work is looking to be hell these next few days so I decided to push and try and get this out before I may not get a chance later this week.

Luke speaks first. “It is curious why you felt the girl belonged here on Coruscant only then for this to happen.” He's looking out the window as rain pours down over the city planet. “Quite the coincidence yes?”

Ben sighs. “In my experience, there is no such thing as luck - or coincidence.”

“Then what is the problem?” Luke asks. “You felt this was her path. We couldn’t have predicted the outcome, but shouldn’t we let her see it through wherever that may be?”

Master Kenobi sits down with a contemplative expression on his face. “I just- I have a bad feeling about this.”

“Confidence in your former padawan have you not?”

He nods. “I have complete confidence in her Master Yoda.”

“Then trust the Force must we.” The elder Jedi sighs in acceptance. “Revealed in time, more will be.” 

***

Rey is beyond bored. Since meeting with the council yesterday and receiving her (less than thrilling) assignment, she’s been trying to stay focused on the upcoming mission by training, meditating, more training and then more meditation. It wasn’t helping. 

Director Andor said his agent would be making contact today but it was already 1700 hours and here she sits, still meditating. How was this ‘agent’ going to contact her anyway? Is he ( _Director Andor did say his agent was a man right?_ ) going to show up at her quarters here? How would he even know where she lived? Director Andor probably told him right? How would he know though? Did Ben tell the Director? How is this even going to work when he gets here? She still can’t remember anything distinctively helpful about either of the men who attacked her. This makes no sense. 

_Slow down._ _Breathe._

Around 1900 hours Rey gets an answer to some of her questions. A messenger droid arrives at her apartment with a cryptic four word communication: { _Temple ruins. 2000 hours._ }

 _Great._ She assumes this is Director Andor’s agent instructing her to meet back at the Jedi Temple. Which is ridiculous, who sets up a meeting one hour beforehand? What if she had been busy and couldn’t make it? (Yes ok, she can see the irony of that thought, but the point is still valid... _what if_ ? _)_ She folds her arms across her chest and goes back to meditating, trying to will the Force to make the next hour go by faster. The sooner she can get started, the sooner hopefully this assignment will be over. 

***

Rey arrives at the Temple at exactly 2000 hours as instructed. Looking around she can’t see anyone here yet. She also can’t sense anyone’s presence in the Force. Maybe she arrived before the SIS agent? Maybe he was already inside waiting for her? Rey begins to make her way up the steps towards the ruins when a man suddenly steps out from behind a column to her left, causing her to yell out in surprise. “Agh?!”

 _Shit._ Where did he come from? How did he just appear without her sensing him? This is the second time this week this has happened to her. In her shock, she instinctively reached inside her robes and her hand found it’s way over her lightsaber, ready to draw the weapon if needed. 

“There is no need for that Master Rey,” the man states plainly. _Seriously, how in the world?..._

“Who are you?” She says the first thing that comes to her mind. 

The man reaches in his pocket and tosses her a coin. “I’m your man.”

Rey catches it and inspects the coin. It does in fact appear the coin is identical to the one Director Andor gave her yesterday. So this is the SIS agent she will be working with. She nods in confirmation, relaxing slightly. 

He steps forward and extends his hand. “Poe Dameron.”

She takes a moment to study the man, Poe. He looks about 10 years older than her despite only standing two inches taller with broad shoulders and a strong jawline which looks like it was born to wear a 1700 shadow. He’s wearing a cream shirt, tan pants and a dark grey, almost black, jacket. While she can’t see it, she can also tell he has a blaster on him, most likely tucked behind the small of his back. 

She takes his hand, shaking it. “Rey.”

“I know.”

 _Duh._ “Right,” she mutters hastily. “Director Andor told you about me?” Rey decides she isn’t good at this whole spy meeting thing. Thankfully, Poe seems to pick up on her uneasiness and nods, offering a short smile. 

“Come on, let's go,” he says and begins to head further into the Temple. 

“Where are we going?”

“To see what we are working with,” calls Poe over his shoulder. 

In that moment, some part of her gets a feeling Poe is going to be as enlightening as Master Yoda in his ability to seemingly always have an answer to her questions while simultaneously leaving her with more questions. She can deal with that later she thinks, taking a few hurried steps to catch up to him. They take the stairs in silence until she decides later is actually right now. “Agent Dameron, what are we doing?”

He lets out something between a chuckle and grunt. “Just Poe is fine. I read your report of the incident but I wanted to see where it happened with my own eyes.” When they arrive inside the Temple ruins and away from Coruscant’s lights, he takes out a flashlight and looks around trying to get the lay of the land. “Where were you first attacked?”

Rey squints trying to adjust to the dark. This would have been a lot easier if they came here during the daytime. Maybe it was a spy thing, the need to run around in the shadows? She decides to remedy the situation by taking out her lightsaber and flicking it on over her head. Blue light surrounds them, making it significantly easier to see. She looks at Poe and he gives her an odd expression. “Umm...this way,” she leads now, “it was near the entrance to the Tower of First Knowledge.”

They continue to walk in silence until finally arriving at the tower entrance. “Here.” Rey gestures with her hand in front of her. “I fought the Force user in this area until the second man came and they both got away.”

Poe grunts in affirmation as he begins to pace around the space, inspecting different debris structures with an expression on his face as if he was trying to put together a puzzle. He still hasn’t actually said anything about this whole process beyond his limited answers to her questions. Quite frankly it's driving her absolutely crazy to the point she can’t stand there anymore. “Poe. What are we doing here? What are you looking for? Shouldn’t we be, you know, out there, chasing whoever attacked me? Isn’t that the mission?” 

That seems to get his attention as he stops and takes a few steps back toward her, meeting her hazel eyes with what she can now see are his own brown. 

“The problem with _chasing_ ,” he starts slowly, “is that by the very definition of the word, you are behind your target.” 

_Really..._

Rey is very thankful her self-control did not fail in that moment because she was pretty sure she just held back the biggest eye-roll of her life. Seriously, who says things like that? _Master Yoda._ If there is one positive here at least it seems her previous inclination about Poe is proving accurate. 

“Besides, you said said you didn’t get a good look at either of the two men who attacked you correct?” 

She nods.

“Then there really isn’t anything to chase.” He turns from her and begins to set back to his previous task of examining the space. She frowns. “Then what-” 

“If we can’t find the _who_ , then we need to figure out the _why_.” She is still not following. “Why were the men who attacked you here? Why the Temple? Why that night?” 

That is actually...pretty smart. She hadn’t thought about it that way. Okay maybe Poe Dameron had a decent idea of what he’s doing. At least one of them did. It’s not like she has really contributed much this evening besides following him around. With a bit of hesitation she asks, “So...why do _you_ think they were here?” 

He frowns, looking around the room again. “Two reasons. One - they were either here for something they believe was still left here.” 

Rey shakes her head. “That’s impossible. When the Sith sacked the Temple thousands of years ago, the Order relocated to Tython and took everything from the Temple back with them. Everyone knows that.”

“Perhaps.”

She puts her hands on her hips. “What’s the second reason?”

“Second…” Poe looks at her again as his voice trails off. He’s staring at her very intently as if he if he is studying her. It’s making Rey uncomfortable. _He does know he is staring right?_ She averts her eyes and lets out a fake cough. “Poe?” 

“...You.”

“Sorry, come again?” 

“They could have been here for you.” He takes several steps closer to her. 

“Come on, why would they be here for me?” She’s frowning now. “I-I’m...a nobody. I just passed the Trials two months ago. I don’t have enemies.” He’s still staring at her though, as if she is something to figure out, some great mystery that needs to be solved. And kriff he really needs to stop staring because she isn’t used to it and it’s making her nervous. 

“Where were you standing when they first attacked you?” Poe asks hastily. “Try to remember. Where _exactly_ were you in this room and which way were you facing?”

Rey tilts her head in contemplation before taking a few steps away. “Here I think. And facing this direction.” She points with her hand. “Toward the Tower that way. I thought I felt something in the Force coming before it all happened.”

“And which direction were you first attacked from?”

“There.”

Poe frowns. “Hmm...not the best approach.”

She stiffens. “Excuse me?”

“Your attacker.” He points in the direction. “If you were the reason they were here, the way they went about it was all wrong. Definitely not the way I would have done it. There is way too much open space here for an escape. Too many exits.” 

Ok this is officially crazy. First Poe says they were here for her. Now, he says he they botched the attempt?

He motions with his head for her to follow as they begin to make their way out of the Temple and back to the city proper. “We should figure out if there was anything left in the Temple after the Order relocated to Tython.” He looks contemplative for a moment before continuing. “My droid can pull records from the SIS databases for us about the Order’s departure from Coruscant but I imagine there is information about the Temple which exists only in the Jedi Archives correct?” 

“Yes, but Poe wait.” Rey’s mind is racing a million miles a minute trying to keep up with him. “I thought you said they were here for me?”

“I said they might be here for you. Probably not though.”

“Yes, well...” She huffs. “Don’t you think that is kind of an important detail to just ignore?” 

“I’m not ignoring the possibility. I’m prioritizing.” 

She gives him a dubious look. Part of her can’t believe he is being so cavalier about this. Since when is a threat on someone’s life not a priority? Poe then does something she was not expecting - he grins. “Look, if you are that concerned, you could always stay here on Coruscant under Republic Protective Services.” 

_Oh kriff no. Literally anything but that._

“No, no, no. Absolutely not,” she states firmly putting her hands back on her hips. “I’m coming with you to Tython. It is my home.”

Poe’s grin grows into a full blown smile, clearly pleased he accurately sized her up. “Alright then it’s settled. I need to make a stop somewhere before we leave, but I’ll swing by your place tomorrow around 1000 hours and then we’ll head to Tython. I have a ship.” He drops his hands into his jacket and just walks off without another word. And just as quickly as he appeared from behind the column, he seemingly disappears into the hustle and bustle of Coruscant. 

Rey wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but she’s pretty sure Poe Dameron was definitely not it. The man was an enigma wrapped in a cryptogram inside a shell made out of solid titanium. It’s only one mission. One assignment. Rey just has to keep telling herself that. 

***

It’s 0700 in the morning and Poe is waiting outside a residential building. Last night’s visit to the Temple was equal parts enlightening and confusing. His new Jedi companion proved just as green as he expected, but he honestly couldn’t fault the girl. She probably didn’t choose the assignment and despite her attempts at basic pleasantries, it was clear she was just about as thrilled with their situation as he was. 

Around 0703 a young woman with dirty blonde hair exits the building and he makes his approach from behind her. “Hey.”

The woman spins around, startled at first, before breaking out into a grin. “Poe Dameron! Maker what are you doing here?” 

“Connix, good to see you too.” He gestures in front of them and the two begin walking. “I’d thought I’d catch you before you head into the office.” 

Communications and intelligence specialist Kaydel Ko Connix of the SIS was one of his oldest friends with the pair having known each other before he agreed to work for Fulcrum. _Before…_

Beyond their shared history, Connix was also the only other person besides Fulcrum and BB-8 who had direct communication access to Poe. More often than not, it was actually Connix who was supplying him with intel from headquarters when he was in the field. She smiles as they walk. “So what’s going on Dameron? I already sent BB-8 all the files you requested last night.”

“Thanks this is about something else.” His voice shifts lower now. “I need you to dig up anything you can find about Rey, the Jedi I’m working with, before her time in the Order. Fulcrum put together a dossier on her but there was almost nothing from before she was adopted by the Order.”

“Well I’ll be!” laughs Connix in a faux-scandalous tone. “You did hear yourself right? The woman is a Jedi!”

“Stop it. It’s not like that.” he hastily responds. “I think she may have been the target that night in the Temple. I can’t be sure though and I want to cover all angles.” 

She nods in confirmation, a smile still on her face. “Alright Dameron, sure thing.”

If there is one thing that Poe has learned about working with Connix all these years is that the woman is practically a wizard when it comes to data-mining intelligence. Even more impressive is her ability to compile said intelligence off-book without so much as leaving a trace. It’s precisely those skills which caught the eye of Fulcrum and why he recruited her to be his primary communication specialist within the network. 

“Thanks. Take care of yourself.” Poe gives her a small squeeze on her elbow before stepping away and disappearing into the morning crowd. 

***

Rey is ready when Poe arrives at 1000 hours. The two hop in his speeder and head off to a rather sketchy part of the city. They arrive at a hanger that looks equally unwelcoming before coming to docking bay with a ship that Poe proudly declares his own. 

“ _That_ is your ship?” she asks.

When Poe said he had a ship she was expecting something with a bit more...class. Instead, she is staring at an XS Stock light freighter which appears to have seen better days. Quite honestly, it looks like a smuggler's ship, not the ship of an agent of the Republic SIS. 

He tilts his head at her. “Yeah...why?”

Not wanting to come across insulting, Rey lets it go waving her hands dismissively. As they board the ship they are greeted by a rather excited droid. _[Master Poe! Welcome back.]_

“He buddy,” he says with a genuine smile on his face. “This is our Jedi guest Rey,” motioning to her. The droid rolls to the side and spins his head inspecting Rey. “She’ll be joining us for a while. Rey, I’d like you to meet my droid, BB-8.”

 _[Hello Friend Rey!]_ The droid beeps excitedly and approaches Rey hastily, rolling in circles around her. She laughs at the droids enthusiasm. “Hello BB-8! Nice to meet you too!” Rey has always had a special love for droids. She found them to be refreshingly honest and uncomplicated. A fact she appreciated given a childhood spent growing up trying to become a Jedi. 

“I need to go prepare for takeoff but BB-8 can help get you situated,” comments Poe before disappearing into the ship. 

_[Affirmative Master Poe!]_

When he finally calms down, BB-8 eventually leads her to a small room inside the ship with a bunk, table and a few odds and ends scattered about. It honestly isn’t much, but Rey doubts they are going to be spending much time on the ship anyway. “Thanks BB-8!” She sets down her belongings on the bunk and kneels down. “Looks like one of your antenna is bent, can I fix that for you?”

She might has well have offered to oil his joints because the droid beeps such rapid affections while rolling over to her that she can barely understand him. “So how long have you been with Poe?” Rey asks. 

_[Since forever Friend Rey. Master Poe first built me over 15 years ago.]_

“Well that must mean you two have been through a lot together.” She finishes straightening out his antena and the droid beeps in satisfaction. “Any secrets of his I should I know about now that we are going to be working together?” 

_[Classified.]_

Well...at least Poe Dameron’s enigmatic ways were consistent in their ability to extend to his droid. A few minutes later Rey makes her way to the cockpit where she finds Poe just pushing the ship out of Coruscant’s atmosphere.

“Hey.” He looks over his shoulder at her. “Feel free to take a seat. We should arrive on Tython in an hour or two.” Rey nods taking the co-pilot’s chair next to him. He looks relaxed sitting at the ship’s controls. Like he was born to do it. 

“So how long have you been with the SIS?” Rey inquires, wanting to break the silence as the ship jumps into hyperspace. If they were going to be stuck here for two hours, might as well try to unravel the mystery that is Poe Dameron.

“Six years”

“And...Do you like it?”

He sighs. “I don’t really think about it that way.”

She looks at him curiously. Poe might honestly be the most cryptic person she has ever met. Or maybe it’s just her? After a few moments of silence he adds, “The job needs to be done. If I am capable, why not me?” Sitting up a bit in his seat and turning his head to look over at her, he asks, “I imagine that is similar to the Jedi?”

“I suppose. Maybe, but Jedi are technically pacifists.” Rey wrinkles her nose in thought. “We are taught to only engage in conflict defensively as a last resort in order to protect life.”

Poe leans back in his seat and looks out the window as the stars streak by outside. “And what if engaging preemptively in conflict prevented the loss of life? Would you do it?”

Rey hadn’t really thought about it that way. Growing up her whole life with the Jedi Order all she has ever known were it’s teachings. She had certainly seen her fair share of the galaxy serving as Master Kenobi’s padawan - everything from acts of pure heroism to the most despicable atrocities she could imagine - but she never wavered in her beliefs. The Jedi were her destiny. Rey knew it. 

“Would you?” she asks turning in her seat to study him. 

“I believe…” Poe closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I believe evil exists in the galaxy — and the only thing necessary for it to succeed is for good men and women to do nothing.”

Maybe it was because she was sitting this close to him in the small quarters of the ship’s cockpit traveling through the silence of space, but for the first time Rey could feel the softest amount of sorrow in his voice. He may have been vague in his response, but Rey knows, his answer was a definitive yes, he absolutely would. Just maybe, she is starting to understand the puzzle that is Poe Dameron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!
> 
> If you have specific Old Republic characters or stories you would like to see here, I would love to know. I have most of the major story arcs for this fic planned out, but there is still plenty of room for plot detours.


	3. Effortless Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Poe arrive on Tython looking for answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This past week proved as difficult at work as expected so apologies if this chapter feels a bit short and disjointed at times. I am committed to trying to update at least once a week! 
> 
> This is the last intro-ish chapter and things will be begin to pick up in chapter 4.

Rey and Poe arrive on Tython without much incident. She had been expecting a bit of trouble given the ship they were arriving in, but Poe must have had a special clearance code because they were immediately directed to land at a docking-pad. While Tython was still a part of the Republic, the Order was generally wary of outsiders making the trip to their home. It was no surprise then when they were immediately greeted by a welcoming party inquiring of their visit.

It was a good thing Rey was there because she highly doubted Poe would have gotten very far trying to explain why he needed access to Jedi Archives on his own. Given her status as a full knight of the Order, she was given the responsibility of watching over her guest (Poe) while he was on Tython. The idea of Poe being  _ her _ guest garnered a chuckle from him and a smile on her part. Truthfully, she still really had no idea how any of this was supposed to work. Nevertheless, they proceed to make their way to the new Jedi Temple and Archives.

When they arrived inside the Temple, Rey is startled when a familiar voice calls out behind them. “Rey, is that you?!”

Turning around she finds herself face-to-face with her best friend. But he couldn’t be here could he? Last she heard, he was assigned to help the war effort in driving out the remainder of the Sith Empire from the galaxy. Officially, he was a General in the Republic Army, a job that very much suited him. He always excelled when it came to military strategy and no doubt was making a real difference. 

She smiles. “Finn! What are you doing here?”

He quickly closes the distance between them and embraces her. Maker, it feels so good to have him hug her, like a part of her is whole again. “I’m just back here for a few days for a new class of Padawans going through the Trials.” Finn releases her and stands in front of her at arm's length amazed. “What are you doing here? I heard you passed the Trials not too long ago yourself?”

“Yes I did,” she laughs. “I’m here on assignment as well. We’re looking for some information from the Archives.”

In that moment, she remembered Poe had been standing behind her this entire time watching their exchange. Finn already seemed to pick-up on her guest, eyeing him a tad suspiciously. “I’m sorry.” Rey coughs, guestering over to Poe. “This is SIS agent Poe Dameron - and this is Jedi Knight Finn Trooper.”

Poe takes the man’s hand, shaking it firmly. “Master Trooper. A pleasure to meet you.” He speaks in such a flat voice Rey wonders how much of a pleasure it could actually be. 

“Just Finn is fine Agent Dameron.” 

Poe nods and gives him a short smile. “Likewise - just Poe.”

Finn turns back inquisitively to Rey. “So what is your assignment that brings you back to the Archives?” They continue onward as she catches him up on the events of the past few days. How she had been attacked in the old Jedi Temple, how they were now looking for any reason why someone would be interested in the old Temple a thousand years after the Order left Coruscant, and most importantly any clue who might be behind it all. 

Finn listens to her story with increasing concern on his face but waits until she’s finished before commenting. “That’s some crazy few days Peanut. Glad you made it out okay.” 

“Peanut?” asks Poe. 

Rey’s face turns a shade of flush pink, clearly embarrassed, and she shoots Finn a look. He gives her mischievous grin before responding. “Yes, it was a nickname I gave Rey when we were kids and it kind of just stuck after that.”

Poe gives her a small smile which only increases her embarrassment. Thank the Maker they arrive at the Archives and Rey has a reason to excuse herself and Poe from this situation. After promising to catch up with Finn later (where she will undoubtedly get payback) they head inside to find a needle in a 4000 year old haystack. 

***

Rey ducked and effortlessly countered Finn’s attack. They were sparring in the afternoon while Poe was back on his ship taking care of some SIS business. Three days they had been on Tython looking for answers in the Archives and as expected, it has proven to be very slow and very boring. Since they had no idea what they were actually looking for, Poe suggested they just go through everything the Archives had related to the old Jedi Temple on Coruscant. 

Things weren’t much better when they weren’t searching through the Archives. While they had been given accommodations during their stay, Poe had decided to stay on his ship when they weren’t pouring over an endless sea of records. She didn’t know why, but he seemed awfully attached to his ship. This left Rey mostly by herself with the exception of BB-8 whom Poe insisted to stay with her. She didn’t mind that part much though. Rey had grown quite fond of his droid over the past few days and if BB-8’s never ending enthusiasm around her was any indication, the droid felt the same way.

After four more hours this morning going through records, Rey caught up with Finn and decided to blow off some steam by training. She enjoyed sparring with Finn despite the fact she was clearly the better duelist. If nothing else it provided her an opportunity to get back at him for embarrassing her the other day. 

“Are you listening Peanut?” he asks. 

“Agh yes. What?” She counters two more of his attacks before spinning and bringing her saber down just above his leg and scoring another point for her.

Finn smiles and the two reset for another round. “I asked how is it going working with your SIS agent, Poe was his name?”

Rey frowns. “I don’t know. It’s been three days and we have nothing to show for it.” 

They continue to move and counter move with Rey continuing to eventually get the upper hand. “Well what did you expect?” Finn flips backwards at her next attack, extends his hand, and pushes her backward with the Force.

“I don’t know. I guess I expected something...different.” Rather than continuing, Rey lets her guard down and turns off her lightsaber. She makes her way over to one of the water canteens they had brought with them and wipes a thin coat of sweat from her brow with a towel. 

Finn takes her cue for a break and joins her. “It will work out. These things take time.”

“Ha!” Rey gives him a faux-punch on his arm. “Patience right?”

“Indeed!” he laughs. 

They both knew patience was never something that came easy to Rey. Even as a Padawan she had preferred action over waiting around. When she was younger and first built her own lightsaber, Rey almost took her own hand off when she excitedly ignited the weapon without proper safety practices. Then there was the time she was accompanying Master Kenobi on a mission on Tatooine and she ran head first into a Tuscan Raider camp without scouting any of the surrounding area trying to recover a kidnapped child. 

“On a more serious note though.” Finn continued in a more deliberate voice. “You should be careful. From what I know and have experienced, SIS agents can be...dangerous.” 

Rey tilts her head in curiosity. “How so?” 

“Well, from what I understand, some of them can get up to some pretty bad stuff all in the name of protecting the Republic and the greater good. I’m talking about assassinations, political manipulations and other such illicit activity.” 

This got Rey thinking. Based on her conversation with Poe on their trip to Tython she knew he probably wouldn’t hesitate to do what he felt was necessary. Still, some part of her had a difficult time seeing him like that. It wasn’t so much that Poe was necessarily overtly warm (actually the opposite), but more so that he was extremely measured and even keeled. He was almost Jedi-like in his temperament. 

“No worries Finn, I’ll be careful. Besides…” Rey sets the canteen down, moves back into the center of the platform, ignites her saber and takes her stance with a sly smile. “I am more than capable of taking care of myself.”

Finn chuckles. “Oh I know Peanut.” He takes his place opposite her as they continue training.

***

Poe leans back in the hull of his ship flipping through the files Connix had sent BB-8 from the SIS databases before leaving Coruscant. As expected, none of this information about the Jedi Order’s relocation to Tython was very useful. Most of the files consisted of normal Republic bureaucratic nonsense like logistics, records of expenses, supplies and other mundane details. 

The records they had been reviewing in the Archives haven’t been much better. He had learned a lot about Jedi Order and founding of the Temple on Coruscant, but very little seemed to indicate why someone would be at the Temple if the Jedi had relocated to Tython. He sighed. This was getting tiring, even for him. Out of curiosity, he pulls up BB-8’s data readings on his datapad. Poe knew his droid was with Rey and he figured he might as well kill some time and check-in with them both. Outside of their research in the archives, he tried to give her space as he knew this was her home and he didn’t want her to feel like he was intruding. It was very obvious she was more comfortable here amongst her fellow Jedi than dealing with all this.

He follows BB-8’s location reading until he arrives at an outdoor training area. The sun was just beginning to set and a warm orange glow was visible in the sky. He spotted his droid and quickly made his way to BB-8. It wasn’t until Poe got closer that he saw Rey and Finn sparring on one of the platform areas. 

Let’s get one thing clear. Poe isn’t easily impressed, he’s seen a lot in sixteen years of war. Hell he’s done a lot. Fly an X-Wing into a fight outnumbered 10-to-1? Easy. Make it out alive from five different crashes? No problem. Fight alongside Jedi in ground operations? Sure, three or four times. Surviving _everything after…_? The worst experience of his life but he’s still here. Infinitrate the Hutt cartel? Just another Centaxday as far as he was concerned. 

But standing here watching Rey sparr with Finn? Fulcrum wasn’t kidding when he said the Council vouched for her raw skills. Poe had to admit - she was damn impressive. He laughed to himself. He always considered himself a fairly capable guy, especially after joining the SIS and training under Fulcrum. Watching Rey now he knew she could probably put him on his ass in under five seconds without breaking a sweat. The way she moved was elegant and effortless, like it was simply a dance she had mastered. Finn was no slouch in his own right from what he could tell, but Rey...she was something else entirely.

“Agent Da- Sorry I mean Poe.” exclaimed Finn after dodging away from one of Rey’s strikes. “I didn’t see you there!” He deactivated his lightsaber and stood up relaxed. Rey turned around, also catching sight of Poe as they both make their way over to him. “Hi sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to check on BB-8.”

Finn smiles. “No problem man. Just trying to get some training in and keep up with Rey over here.” He gives her a playful shove on the shoulder. 

BB-8 beeps excitedly,  _ [Friend Rey has been very kind Master Poe. We are performing most optimally!] _

“I can see that buddy.” Poe says with a laugh. 

Rey shuffles her feet a bit before looking up at him. Her face is flush, a shade of pink no doubt from training for a while now. “Were you able to find anything interesting?” she asks. 

Poe tells her about the dead-end that was the SIS files. Unfortunately, they would just have to keep going through the Archives in the morning. It’s then when Finn gets a brilliant idea. “What if you asked Master Packlan?”

“Sorry come again?”

“Jedi Master Chaber Packlan. I don’t know why I didn’t think of him earlier!” Finn says excitedly. “He’s one of the most respected historians of the Jedi Order here on Tython. He might know why the Sith or whatever Dark Side Force user you encountered would be interested in the old Temple.” 

Rey looks positively thrilled at the opportunity to do something other than shift through records in the Archives for hours at a time. “That’s a fantastic idea Finn!” She turns to Poe. “We’ll go first thing tomorrow morning?”

He nods. “Sure, sounds good.”

Finn claps his hands. “Perfect! Which means we still have time to get some more training in tonight.” He walks over to the opposite side of the platform, picks up two bo staves, and tosses one to Rey which she (obviously) catches effortlessly before making her way back to the center of the platform. 

Finn then holds out the second staff in his hand. “What do you say Dameron, care to tap in?” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Poe admits shaking his head.

He looks over at Rey. She has her staff behind her back resting on her shoulders, arms draped over them with the biggest smile he has ever seen spread across her face. “Come on Poe. I promise no Force abilities to keep it a fair fight!” 

Poe laughs, she was well and truly in her element like this. “Sorry. Maybe next time.”

He begins to walk away when Finn calls out loudly behind him, “You aren’t scared now Poe, are you?”

He knew it was a bait and he knew he shouldn’t take it. The old Poe though, he would have taken the taunt in a heartbeat. The old Poe would have never backed down from a challenge regardless of the odds. For a second when he looked back and saw the look on Rey’s face he almost thought he would. He was certainly far and away more capable today despite the fact she could probably still wipe the floor with him even if she was going to hold back. 

But he couldn’t. He was not that man. Not anymore. Poe gives her a short a smile and nods before turning back around and heading off to return to his ship. 

***

_ “Foolish girl, you have no idea what you are up against. What  _ **_he_ ** _ is capable of.” _

_... _

_ She is running down a hallway. They need to get out of here. She finds herself in a tight space. It’s almost time. She looks back in horror. The door shuts and it’s like her whole world has been severed in two. She bangs on the door but it’s too late. She feels herself falling… _

Rey jumps up in bed. It all felt like blurred haze yet so very real. She’s breathing heavy and sweating.  _ What the kriff was that? _ Her head hurts trying to recall any details with no success before she hears a steady thumping sound making its way to her.

_ [Friend Rey!] _ beeps a concerned BB-8 appearing at her bedside from his wall charging station outside her room.  _ [Are you in distress? I am detecting an abnormally elevated heart rate!] _

Rey takes a deep breath in trying to steady herself. “I-I’m fine BB-8.” 

_ [Are you sure? Do you want me to call Master Poe to be safe?] _

“No!” she says more loudly than intended. “Just a bad dream. I’m fine, you can go. Thanks for checking on me.” She manages a small smile before the droid beeps affirmatively and rolls back to its charging station.

Rey sinks back into her bed, her heart rate finally coming down. The last thing she needed right now was Poe thinking she was someone who couldn’t handle a simple bad dream. Admittedly, she has had plenty of bad dreams in the past and whatever  _ that _ was, it was nothing like any of them. 

***

In the morning Rey and Poe head off to see Master Packlan. She had never met the man before, but his reputation preceded him as a wise scholar of the history of the Jedi Order. She begins by recalling her attack at the Temple and why they were on Tython looking for information. “So Master Packlan, do you think you could help us?”

Packlan sits pensively for a few moments processing what she has told him. “You are certain this man who attacked you practiced in the Dark Side of the Force?”

Rey nods. “Absolutely. I’m not convinced he was a Sith but he was definitely strong in the Dark Side of the Force.”

“I see.” The Jedi Master sits in silence for a minute before responding. “I don’t know how relevant this is, but several thousand years ago the old Council investigated several rumors about the former Temple on Coruscant.”

Rey and Poe both sit up attentively. “What rumors?” she asks. 

Packlan sighs. “There were rumors the Temple was actually built on an old Sith power source of some kind. Mind you, this was a few hundred years before the sacking of Coruscant. Anyway, the Council investigated but found no evidence to support the claim. The prevailing thought was that it was just Sith rumors meant to try to destabilize the Order.”

“What do you think Master Packlan?” Poe inquires. “Were the rumors unsubstantiated? Did the Council get it right?”

The elder man turns to Poe, looking him in the eyes. “I think people will believe what they want to believe.” 

After a few more minutes of discourse, they thank Master Packlan for his time and leave. Rey wasn’t sure how helpful the trip had been but Poe seemed deep in thought. “So...what’s next? Should we head back to the Archives and continue searching?”

Poe shakes his head with a frown. “No. I think Master Packlan was right.”

She looks at him inquisitively. Why did he always have to make this so difficult? “How so?”

“People will believe what they want to believe.” Poe sticks his hands inside his jacket as they continue to walk along. “I think whoever attacked you  _ believed _ the rumor about a Sith power source beneath the old Temple regardless of whether it was actually true or not. I think we should be looking for groups who are interested in old Sith artifacts and power sources. Assuming you are correct and your attacker was not Sith, I doubt these groups are either.”

Rey had to concede, that was a pretty smart approach. Trading in Sith artifacts was very illegal and heavily monitored by both the Republic and the Jedi Order. Of course, that still didn’t stop plenty of lowlifes, criminal organizations and other unsavory characters from trying to do it. It’s not like the Jedi and Republic could be everywhere in the galaxy after all. Poe would reach out to the SIS for intel but that would most likely mean more waiting. Rey asked if there is anything they could to “speed up” the process. 

“Well…” he muttered uneasily. “I may know a guy.”

“You may know a guy?” she nudges. “What does that mean?”

Poe sighs. “I know a guy who is sort of a black market broker for those sorts of items, rare and highly illegal. And he’s not exactly my guy. More of an acquaintance really and definitely not a  _ good _ guy if you know what I mean”

Why did it not surprise her that Poe knows a few criminals? She wasn’t going to complain though. As much as she loved Tython, anything was better than sitting around waiting for intel. “Great so let’s go meet this guy then.”

“Okay, but he’s on Batuu.” 

_ Of course… _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading.


	4. The Broker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe and Rey meet up with his contact in Black Spire Outpost. Things do not go according to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the delay in this chapter, I had to travel abroad for work unexpectedly so if this chapter is bad I sincerely apologize as I had very little time to write. This chapter also ended up coming out way darker than I originally planned. Finally, I apologize in advance because I have no idea how to write Cassian+Jyn.
> 
> **Rating of this fic has gone up to M**
> 
>  **WARNING:** We see the _darker_ side of Poe that has been alluded to in the previous chapters. He kills two unarmed (bad) people which expectedly does not sit well with Rey.

Batuu was a remote planet on the edge of the galaxy’s Outer Rim. Over the years it had deteriorated into a lawless forgotten world that was popular among smugglers, criminals, and other unsavory characters looking to escape the order of the Republic. It was no surprise that Poe's contact who may have information about the sale of Sith artifacts was located on the backwater planet. 

Rey had said goodbye to Finn back on Tython. Besides reminding her to be careful, he urged her to stay in touch and gave her a communicator she could use to reach him. Friendship was a precious commodity and not something to lose regardless of how far apart their assignments may take them. Unfortunately, if this assignment with Poe was any indication, it might be a while before she sees Finn again. That thought brought a particular sadness to Rey, but she tried to stay focused on the mission at-hand. 

They had landed on Batuu a short time ago and were preparing to head out to meet Poe’s contact when he finally decides to brief her on the mission.

“Rey...” Poe murmurs looking directly at her with a very serious look on his face. “We need to go over a few things before we get out there.” 

She nods, unsure where exactly he is going with this. 

“First, no matter what happens, follow my lead. No questions asked.” 

She frowns. “Poe, I can-”

He shakes his head and holds up his hand to stop her. “This isn’t about capability. These people are dangerous and they are not our friends. I know them. I’ve spent time with them. I know what they are capable of.” His face softens a bit as he continues. “Please. I need you to trust me on this.” 

Poe obviously must know she can take care of herself (she is a Jedi after all) but she can’t help but feel like he is still trying to protect her from something. Normally she would argue begrudgingly at the thought of being protected, but there was something sincere, almost warm, about his request. She sighs in agreement. “Alright Poe, I’ll follow your lead.”

“Good,” he nods before the serious tone returns his voice. “Second, no lightsaber or Force abilities unless our lives are in imminent danger and it's absolutely necessary.” 

“Understood.” That made a lot of sense. She already was not wearing her Jedi robes. Instead, she exchanged them for a more form fitting cream tunic and pants with a plain grey cloak. Jedi on Batuu weren’t exactly commonplace and having a lightsaber or using the Force in plain view was a good way for them to stand out.

“Third, and I’m sure you know this…” He looks away hesitantly for a second, “...but anything else that happens while we are here isn’t our problem. Our mission is to see my contact and get whatever intel he may have. We can’t get involved.” 

Rey hated this part, but she knew he was right. It was one of the hardest things she had to learn when accompanying Master Kenobi: that it wasn’t a Jedi’s place to interfere and police the entire galaxy. She gives a short nod in agreement and doesn’t hide the frown on her face.

Poe sighs seemingly in relief. “Okay. Last thing, our cover.” He reaches over to a crate behind her and takes out a blaster and hands it to her. “Do you know how to use one of these?”

She hesitantly takes the weapon from him. “Yeah, point and shoot?” Blasters were never a preferred weapon of a Jedi but she had learned to shoot one in training. If Jedi would be fighting alongside the Republic military it was thought they should at least have a basic understanding of how to handle a blaster. 

“Pretty much,” Poe half-laughs. He seemed to pick up on her uneasiness when he adds, “Don’t worry, if everything goes according to plan, you won’t have to use it.” He begins to pack up several supplies and slips a secondary blaster of his own into the small of his back (in addition to the one he has holstered on his right leg). “Finally, when we are out there, do not use my real name. Call me Kes - Kes Trant.”

“Kes?” she asks.

“Yes. It’s a cover identity I use for missions like these. You can use your real name, Rey, is fine. If anyone asks, you are just my partner for a job. That’s it, no need to go into more detail.”

“Got it,” she says with a quickness in her breath. She has never actually gone undercover pretending to be someone else before. Sure, Jedi infiltrated behind enemy lines all the time, but this would be her first time doing anything like this. Rey had to admit, despite the criminal and dangerous elements at work, it was kind of exciting.

Poe finishes making their last minute preparations and tells BB-8 to stay with the ship just in case things go sideways and they need a fast getaway. He opens the cargo door ramp and they head out into Black Spire Outpost to meet Poe’s contact. 

***

Cassian flips through the files Connix had sent him.

There was no shortage of groups who had an interest in Sith artifacts (besides the Sith Empire). The Exchange, Hutts and Black Sun were the most notorious groups alongside some lesser known players such as the Mecrosa Order and the Raxus Engineering Network. In addition to criminal organizations, there were also various dark side fringe groups such as the Nightsisters who would love to get their hands on Sith artifacts.

He was hoping reviewing these files would produce a lead of some kind, but nothing of significance stood out. It must have gotten late though because the door to his home office hisses open and Jyn walks in with a stern look on her face. “Cass…it’s getting late.”

He can’t help but smile. In all the years they have been together, he never tired of Jyn’s stubbornness, or put more affectionately, her strong will. “Yes dear, I’m just wrapping this up.” He closes the files on his datapad and shuts it off before getting up and embracing his wife.

“You work too much,” she sighs. 

***

Poe and Rey arrive at a particularly sketchy cantina on the far side of Black Spire Outpost. They were there to meet a man who went by the name of Morraw and judging by Poe’s description, this man Morraw was not to be trusted. According to Poe, Morraw would “sell out his own mother for a hundred extra credits” if he could. Shuffling inside and up to the bar, they are greeted by a particularly rowdy patron who recognizes Poe.

“Kes, is that you?” The man slides up next to Poe on his left, giving him a soft punch on his shoulder. “It’s been forever man, where have you been?”

Poe turns to face him with an easy smile on his face. “Been busy with a job Nett. That’s why I’m here though, I’m looking for Morraw.” He takes a sip of the whiskey the bartender places in front of him. “You know if he’s here?”

Rey watches their exchange with interest. It was kind of amazing how effortlessly Poe spoke with this man (Nett) catching up with stories of what he had been up to. She assumed everything he was saying were just lies, but there was no way you could tell just by listening to him. Poe was a natural, providing just enough information to be believable but not enough information to have anyone question his story. It honestly made her wonder if he had ever lied to her.

“So Nett, about Morraw, is he around? Have you seen him?” Poe asks again with a slightly more annoyed tone in his voice. “I’m kind of in a bit of a rush with this job.”

Nett waves his hand dismissively. “Yeah no worries, cool your jets.” It’s at this time Nett seems to finalize notice Rey standing on the other side of Poe. “And who is this?”

“I’m Rey,” she says with a short nod. “I’m P-Kes’s partner for this job.” 

The man smiles slyly. “Oh sweetheart, I bet you are.” 

He takes another large gulp of his drink and nudges Poe. “She’s a pretty thing, where did you find her? Certainly a far cry from Zorii.”

Growing up, especially in the last few years as she got older, Rey had become used to a certain amount of impropriety and innuendo that goes along with being a young woman and a Jedi. She never considered herself particularly attractive, but that didn’t stop the occasional nerf-herder from making a comment or two while she was still a Padawan (and even some older senators in the two months she worked on Coruscant). In these situations, she usually finds it best to ignore the comment and move on. 

When she glances at Poe, his previously calm and friendly demeanor has been replaced with an irritated expression. He seems to choose not to comment either, coughing and taking another drink.

Nett doesn’t seem to take the hint, however, and reaches forward toward her. “Come on, let's see that pretty face better sweetheart.” 

Rey is about to lean back outside Nett’s drunken reach and brush his hand away...except Poe reacts first. 

He reaches over, grabs Nett’s extended hand in the pressure point and rips it behind the man’s back, pulling it up in a way that looked very uncomfortable. Poe then slams Nett against the bar, face first so hard that it had to hurt. 

“Don’t...” Poe hisses as he pulls out the secondary blaster from behind his back with his left hand and aims it at a group of Nett’s friends who stood up at a nearby table as if they were looking to intervene. 

Rey stands there flabbergasted. _What the hell was that?_ If she didn’t have Jedi intuition and reflexes, she swears she wouldn’t have even caught Poe moving, that’s how fast he reacted. Not that she needed his help, but Poe’s quickness and seemingly disproportionate aggression caught her off guard. 

“Kes,” she says almost in a whisper. Poe turns to her to her, still holding Nett down face first on the bar and a blaster in his left hand. When she meets his gaze, there is a fire in his eyes she hasn’t seen before. Was this what Finn was trying to tell her about?

Poe motions with his blaster for Nett’s friends to sit back down. He then brings the blaster to Nett’s head. “Now...first you are going to apologize to my partner here. Then you are going to take us to Morraw. Got it?”

“Argh. Y-Yeah Kes. N-No problem.” Poe lifts him up, still holding Nett’s arm behind his back. “S-Sorry” he mutters, not making eye contact with Rey. 

Poe finally lets him go and Nett shakes out his arm. “Let’s go” mutters Poe, waiving the blaster at Nett for him to lead. Rey is still in shock at what had just happened that all she can do is follow them both out of the cantina. 

After a few minutes walking the streets they make their way to a nondescript building. Once inside, they find themselves in a large room which looks like a cross between a museum and a workshop with different odds and ends scattered around. Nett leaves to get Morraw which thankfully finally gives her a few minutes alone with Poe before they return. 

“What the hell was that back there?!” she whisper-yells at him.

He looks at her with a blank expression on his face. “What was what?”

Rey puts her hands on her hips. “You know what!” There is no way he was really going to stand there and pretend what just happened was normal. “Why did you almost kill Nett back there?”

“I didn’t _almost_ kill him,” sighs Poe. “Trust me, if I wanted Nett dead he would be dead.” 

_Is he serious?_

She is about to yell at him again when a loud voice enters the room. “Kes, my friend! How are you?” 

Judging by Poe’s reaction, Rey can only assume this is Morraw, the man they had come to Black Spire Outpost to meet. Although he called Poe his friend, the expression on Morraw’s face seems apprehensive at best. Definitely not friends. _I guess that’s what happens when someone marches into your house demanding to see you at gunpoint._

“I’m fine. Thanks for taking the time to meet.” Poe shakes the Morraw’s hand before turning and walking around the workshop. 

Morraw takes a seat behind a large table and pours himself a glass of something that was no doubt alcoholic and strong. “Sure thing. What can I do for you?”

Poe and Rey take a seat opposite him before Poe speaks. “My partner and I represent an interested party looking to purchase items of a certain nature. A Sith nature.” Morraw sits up in his chair at the mention of Sith. “Anyway, I know you are connected with certain groups who deal with that sort of thing and I was hoping you could put us in touch with anyone who had such items for sale or were interested in acquiring them.”

Morraw looks between with a stunned expression on his face. “You’re joking right?” When neither of them respond he gives a short laugh and leans back in his chair. “Well I’m sorry to tell you this Kes, but I don’t deal in those sorts of items anymore. That market is way too hot right now.”

Rey frowns. “Who is dealing in Sith artifacts then?”

“I don’t know,” says Morraw while fidgeting with something under his desk. “All I know is they are some scary people.”

“Scary? How so?” Poe inquiries with a tired voice. 

“I don’t know! Just scary,” snaps Morraw. Rey can see his expression and demeanor has fully shifted now. Gone is the hesitant broker trying to save face. Instead, she is looking at a frightened man radiating so much fear it would be impossible to miss even if she wasn’t a Jedi and couldn’t feel his emotions in the Force. 

Poe raises a hand trying to calm him down. “Okay. Alright. Well do you know anything about these scary people at least? Who they are or where we can find them?” 

“Maker, what is wrong with you Kes?” Morraw says still fidgeting in his chair. “Why is this so important?”

“My client is a demanding man,” states Poe plainly, not missing a beat. 

That is certainly the understatement of the century. Rey doesn’t know Director Andor very well but if even half the stories she has heard are true, the SIS Director does not mess around when it comes to mission orders. Admittedly, neither does the Jedi Council if she was being honest. 

Morraw frowns. “Yeah? Well tell your client to get a new hobby.” He shifts in his chair again and looks down at something below his desk. 

_Shit._

The feeling creeps up Rey’s spine like a cold chill. Something is not right here. She puts a hand on the armrest of her chair as if she is about to stand up until Poe extends his arm in front of her as if he was signaling her to sit back down. She looks over at him with a concerned look on her face. “Kes, we-” 

“It’s fine Rey.” Poe interrupts, motioning with his hand again for her to sit back down. She looks into his eyes and she can’t seem to read him at all. It’s honestly very frustrating. Poe gives her a short nod as if to reassure her. It doesn’t help, but she sits down nervously anyway. She did promise to follow his lead…

Poe turns back to Morraw with a weak smile on his face. “My friend. Come on. What’s going on here?”

“K-Kes...I-I…” the man stutters. No more than five seconds later, Rey hears a loud noise outside and three men quickly come through the door behind them with blasters trained on both her and Poe. One of the men is Nett alongside two others wearing some type of mask. “I-I’m sorry. I had no choice,” whispers Morraw. 

Shit. This is exactly what she was afraid of and kriff, why didn’t Poe just listen to her in the first place? 

“Hands up you two,” snarls Nett. “You are coming with us.”

Rey puts her hands up and instinctively begins to survey their situation trying to figure out the best tactical approach to get them out of this mess. She looks over at Poe who lazily seems to also raise his hands, but gives her another wave as if he was telling her to relax. 

Seriously, how can he be so calm about this? It’s not that Rey was particularly worried about their safety even with three blasters pointed at their backs, but the cavalier nature in which Poe approaches life-threatening danger was starting to wear on her. She hopes his brazen disregard for self preservation in this moment is only because she’s a Jedi. Unfortunately, something tells her that probably isn’t the case. 

Poe leans back in his chair still with his arms raised but unphased. “So Nett, where are you going to take us?”

Nett laughs. “Anyone asking questions needs to disappear. You know how the game works Kes.”

_Disappear...Great. Perfect._

Poe sighs and looks over at Rey - his brown eyes focused and meeting her own. He begins to lean forward slowly in his seat as if he was about to stand up until he gives her a quick nod. What happens next is pure instinct, like she could read his mind in that moment. 

Poe crouches down and drops behind the chair for cover as Rey stands up quickly and spins around, reaching for her lightsaber tucked inside her rob in the small of her back. They catch the three men by surprise for a split second before they fire their blasters. In a sweeping motion as she turns, Rey ignites her lightsaber and deflects the two blaster shots aimed in her direction while the third hits the chair Poe had taken cover behind. 

Nett and the other two men seem stunned by her use of a lightsaber for a second before they begin to fire at them both more rapidly. Rey easily deflects their blaster fire while trying to ensure it doesn’t reflect back on them. Poe doesn’t seem to share her sentiment and quickly shoots the two masked men dead before severely injuring Nett with a shot in the shoulder. When the danger subsides, he stands up and casually walks over to Nett lying on the floor bleeding with a blaster still pointed at him.

Rey frowns and turns off her lightsaber. “P-Kes that was completely unnecessary.”

Poe holds his hand up to interrupt her (again) while still looking down at Nett. Maker, he was really getting on her nerves. 

“Who are you working for?” he asks. Nett looks up at him with anger in his eyes, still bleeding from his shoulder. He doesn’t say anything. “Who told you to kill us?” Poe repeats. Still nothing. Rey can see the fire in Poe’s eyes as he looks down on the man. It was the same fire she saw when he previously held Nett down on the bar. Poe was going to kill him. 

This is wrong. Yes, these men attacked them, but killing Nett like this was wrong, he is injured and defenseless. This is not the Jedi way. Rey puts a hand on Poe’s outstretched arm which still has the blaster pointed at the injured man. “Kes. Don’t. It’s not right. We can’t...”

“Go to the ship Rey,” he says cooly. 

“Kes. No.”

A loud sound of a metal object hitting the floor rings out as Morraw knocks something over while trying to crawl away from behind his desk. “Don’t you move either,” Poe says before turning back to Nett on the ground. 

“Rey, go back to the ship.” he repeats.

“No.” 

Poe looks up holding eye contact with her now, but still doesn’t lower his weapon. Rey won’t break his gaze. He can’t do this. She doesn’t care what deal they made back on the ship that she would follow his lead, executing unarmed defenseless people, even murderous criminals, is wrong. “Please Poe,” she says using his real name and not his cover in hopes that may change his mind, “Don’t.”

But he just stands there. Unmoving. His eyes unrelenting and unreadable.

“Please,” he half-whispers surprising her, “go back to the ship.” 

“No.”

They both stand motionless for what feels like hours looking at each other, refusing to break eye contact as if it was a sign of weakness. Rey looks at him as if she could forcibly will him to not do what he has so clearly already made up his mind to do. 

Poe’s blaster goes off. 

He kills Nett without so much as blinking, still looking directly at Rey as he turns his blaster to the broker crawling on the floor. “Last chance Morraw, who were these guys?” he asks.

“I-I can’t...P-Please Kes...” begs Morraw. 

Rey shakes her head still refusing to look away from Poe.

He fires his blaster one more time. 

Morraw’s body slumps down onto the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. <3
> 
> I realize this version of Poe is darker than most Damerey readers are used to, but I promise I have a plan...it just may take longer than expected. As previously noted, this turned out darker than originally planned so I'm going to have rework a few chapters because I slow burn like no other. 
> 
> Next chapter: Poe and Rey will discuss / confront some of the events of this chapter along with other things


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